Welcome to the 60th edition of the LNWA Newsletter - produced to maintain your contact with LNWA and e-mailed to all 32 Boroughs plus the City. Single Points of Contact (SPOCs) are regularly updated so, if you are receiving it for the first time, it’s because you are identified as the Neighbourhood Watch Contact for your Borough. LNWA, is anxious information reaches the "grass roots" so please ensure everyone in a Watch in your Borough is encouraged to read this Newsletter which is also accessible via our website, http://www.lnwa.net/

CRIME REDUCTION PARTNERSHIP

Crime Reduction Partnership is supported by Neighbourhood & Home Watch Network and the Metropolitan Police. Check out the latest news at http://www.crp-news.comand/ sign up to receive the regular newsletter.

NORMANTON SCREEN PRINT

Normanton Screen Print, a preferred supplier of Neighbourhood Watch signs, is having an Autumn Promotion. Each order over £250 will enjoy an additional 10% discount over normal pricing. Check what is available on the website, http://www.nsprint.netthen/ telephone 0115 973 3323 or e-mail sales@nsprint.net for details of the discount.

SCAM E-MAIL

An increased number of scam e-mails have been circulating recently. Take care not fall victim. E-mails seem genuine and are made to look as if they’ve come from reputable organisations. My own experience is that there’s usually a glaring error in the spelling (which is a dead giveaway) but, if you’re not sure where it has come from, delete it. Check this page on the OurWatch website for advice about staying safe on the web:

Unsure about data protection? The Information Commissioner’s Office offers “advisory visits” to organisations to give practical advice on how to improve data protection practice. For more information visit:

Several Boroughs are now subscribers to the National Neighbourhood Watch database and messaging service, Neighbourhood Alert, managed by Neighbourhood & Home Watch Network via its website, http://www.ourwatch.org/

For more information on how to incorporate all of your Borough Watches into the mapping and messaging system, go to:

Most burglaries tend to be opportunistic rather than planned. If your home does not look secure, seems unlived in, or provides unobserved access, it could be at risk. Understanding what burglars look for when choosing their target will help you identify weak spots in your home's security. Our top ten tips are:

1. Mark or etch your property with your postcode;2. Register items with a serial number at: http://www.immobilise.com/;3. Do not leave car keys or ID documents near doors, letterbox or windows; 4. Always check who’s at the door and don’t open it if you feel anxious;5. Close and lock all doors and windows, even if you are only going out for a few minutes;6. Keep valuables out of sight;7. Leave some lights on if it will be dark before you arrive home; 8. Install a visible burglar alarm;9. Always keep sheds and outbuildings locked;10. Cancel milk or other deliveries if you will be away for days or weeks at a time.

Burglary, on the whole, is an opportunist crime. A burglar will select a target because it offers the best opportunity to carry out a crime undetected and with the fewest obstacles. A building that presents itself as unoccupied and insecure is more likely to be targeted than one that is properly secured. Some features that make you more vulnerable include: side gates open; accessible windows open; ladders left out (allowing access to otherwise inaccessible windows); garden tools available to force entry; untrimmed hedges or high fences preventing natural surveillance. Residents of multi occupancy dwellings or flats should be mindful not to grant entry to people via an entry phone system if they do not know them and to be cautious of people seeking to 'tailgate' them into buildings. Milk bottles or parcels on the doorstep; newspapers and mail in the letterbox; unlit houses after dark; all windows shut in very hot weather are all signs telling the burglar disturbance whilst breaking-in is unlikely. Naturally, circumstances may arise when such situations are unavoidable. If we take measures that tell the burglar this building is too difficult or too risky a target, he or she will hopefully move on.

ALUMNI PROGRAMME

As part of an on-going drive to diversify and become more inclusive, Neighbourhood & Home Watch Network has teamed up with Catch22 to launch the ‘Alumni Programme’, offering members the opportunity to create a number of social action volunteering opportunities for graduates of the National Citizen Service programme (NCS). Volunteering opportunities may vary from short-term roles such as minute taking to leaflet dropping, to more substantial opportunities such as the development of a youth panel or working on a specific crime reduction project in line with local need. There is no limit to the number or type of opportunities you could offer.

This year, National Personal Safety Day is 8th October. Run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, this year’s theme is ‘Tech No Chances’ and it focuses on technology and safety. The campaign leaflet and poster, which have the NHW logos on, are available on the Neighbourhood & Home watch Network website here: (Poster&Leaflet)

500 hard copies of the leaflet are available to the London Region. Please contact Jo Walker on <jo.walker@suzylamplugh.org> by 17:00 on Tuesday 28th August if you would like these sent to you. Sorry about the short deadline; it is because of the Trust’s print deadline.

That’s all for this month. As usual, on behalf of LNWA, thank you for your work and support.

This edition of the e-newsletter contains a message from the Chair, an article from Towergate insurance, details of the new initiative on Dementia, a Police and Crime Commissioners' communication handbook and doorstep selling materials from the Office of Fair Trading.Message sent bySam Cox (NHWN, Administrator, UK)